Robust picosecond writing of a layered antiferromagnet by staggered spin-orbit fields

Ultrafast electrical switching by current-induced staggered spin-orbit fields, with minimal risk of overshoot is shown in layered easy-plane antiferromagnets with basal-plane anisotropies. Reliable switching is due to the fieldlike torque, relaxing stringent requirements with respect to precision in the duration of the excitation pulse. Focus is put on a system with weak planar biaxial anisotropy. We investigate the switching as a function of the spin-orbit field strength, pulse duration, rise and fall times, and damping using atomistic spin dynamics simulations and an effective equation for the antiferromagnetic order parameter. The critical spin-orbit field strength required for switching a biaxial system is determined, and we show that writing is possible at feasible current magnitudes. Finally, we discuss switching of systems exhibiting a dominant uniaxial basal-plane anisotropy.